


heads will roll

by illea



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, First Meetings, Halloween, M/M, Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:41:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27355150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/illea/pseuds/illea
Summary: Ava needs a good night's sleep before her midterm, so she crashes her neighbour's Halloween party to ask them to quiet down.
Relationships: Charlie/Ava Sharpe, Nyssa al Ghul/Astra Logue
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	heads will roll

**Author's Note:**

  * For [gingercanary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingercanary/gifts).



Ava shoved a pillow over her head but it was no use. The thumping bass of the party across the street was still vibrating through her bedroom window. Every few minutes, the music was punctuated with a drunken shout.

The joys of living on campus.

Ava considered calling security, but it seemed a bit excessive—it was Halloween, after all. She usually loved this season. Reading by a crackling fire, drinking pumpkin spice lattes, walking through colourful fallen leaves while listening to podcasts about serial killers. All of her favourite things.

She couldn’t blame her neighbours for having fun. It wasn’t their fault that her political science professor had scheduled a 30% midterm tomorrow morning. But couldn’t they have fun a bit more quietly? If she closed her mouth, she could practically feel her teeth shaking.

Swallowing her pride, Ava threw a robe over her pajamas and put on boots, kicking through dead leaves as she stomped across the street. She knocked on the door, wrapping her robe tighter around her as she stood on the porch. The door swung open to reveal a man with blondeish-brown hair wearing a trenchcoat and a red tie. He looked like Inspector Gadget after a week-long bender.

“What are you supposed to be?” he asked, his rough voice threaded with an English accent.

“Oh,” Ava said, looking down at her ensemble. “This isn’t a costume.”

The man nodded and turned back towards the darkness of the house. “Mate, your landlord’s here!”

“I’m not the landlord,” Ava yelped. He turned back and looked her up and down.

“Could’ve fooled me, love,” he muttered, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and popping it between his lips. He pushed past Ava and down the front steps, lounging on the bottom step to smoke. A group of people walked by and he offered them a wink and a wave, causing a few of them to giggle.

"John Constantine," he said. "The number's 978—"

"Hey!" Ava interrupted, waving to get his attention. “Could you please turn down the music? I need to sleep.”

“Not my house, not my rules,” he drawled, taking another drag of his cigarette. Ava rolled her eyes and walked through the front door, immediately running into a decorative spider web. She yelped and tried to pick it out of her hair.

Someone had set up party lights throughout the darkened house, glaring orange and purple and green across the scuffed walls. It was admittedly spooky, but the effect was lessened by the streamers and plastic cups that littered the floor. Ava pushed through clumps of people and eventually found her way to the kitchen. It was the farthest from the main room and still had the lights on, so it seemed like the safest bet for finding someone that could actually hear her speak. A woman stood at the counter pouring chips into a bowl.

“Excuse me,” Ava said, approaching her. “Are you the owner of the house?”

“No,” the woman replied bluntly. She was dressed as some sort of assassin, with a full leather costume and plastic knives strapped to her waist and legs. Ava couldn’t have found someone less approachable.

“Do you know the owner of the house?” Ava ventured. The woman turned around again, clearly exasperated.

“Yes. I do not know where she is.”

Ava was debating the relative percentage of death if she asked another question when another woman slid into the kitchen. She was dressed as a fortune teller with a long purple dress and a small crystal ball swinging from a chain around her neck.

“Babe, be nice to the guests,” the fortune teller said, sliding her arms around the other girl’s waist. Immediately, the assassin’s face softened into something warmer.

“I’m Astra,” the fortune teller said kindly. “This is my girlfriend Nyssa.”

“Hello,” Nyssa said. Now that she didn’t look murderous, Ava had to admit that she appreciated Nyssa’s straight-forward nature. Social interaction wasn’t Ava’s strong suit either. She always appreciated a kindred spirit.

“Do you know where the owner of the house is?” Ava asked. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be rude. I’m sort of on a quest here.”

“I don’t,” Astra said kindly. “But if I had to guess—”

She paused and closed her eyes, rubbing her crystal ball dramatically. Nyssa rolled her eyes, but there was a smile pulling at her lips. When Astra opened her eyes, she immediately looked over at Nyssa and laughed at her faux-annoyed expression. It was the kind of intimacy that told Ava they’d done this a few times today.

“Charlie’s probably in the living room,” Astra said helpfully. Ava nodded and threaded her way through another narrow hallway into the main room. It smelled of cheap beer and even cheaper perfume. There were massive speakers set up in the corner and Ava felt her eardrums bleeding as she scanned the room. There was a couple making out against the wall—one dressed as Indiana Jones and one dressed as Mr. Robot—and Ava averted her eyes, hoping neither of them was Charlie.

Ava’s eyes froze when they landed on the couch. Perched on the arm of the sofa was a girl she recognized from her political science class. She was dressed as some sort of punk rocker that Ava didn’t know enough to identify, but it looked good on her. Even better than usual, and usual was pretty damn good.

“Hi,” Ava stuttered, approaching the couch. She wasn’t quite loud enough but the girl must’ve noticed her approach because she smiled.

“You alright?” She had a British accent that was too casual and real to be part of the costume.

“Do you know where I can find Charlie?”

The girl shook her head and pointed to her ear. Ava gritted her teeth—why didn’t someone just turn down the stupid music?—and leaned in closer.

“Where’s Charlie?”

“At your service,” the girl replied, standing up. Ava didn’t move back in time and they bumped into each other awkwardly. Ava quickly stepped back, but Charlie didn’t seem too bothered.

“Ava,” Ava shouted, pointing at herself.

“Can I get you a drink?” Charlie asked. Ava shook her head.

“I shouldn’t.”

“Here,” Charlie said, leading her towards a bin full of drinks. She grabbed a glass bottle and twisted off the cap in one swift movement, pouring it into a plastic cup. “My friend Zari doesn’t drink so we always get something fun for her.”

Ava took a hesitant sip and made a surprised noise. It tasted like a caramel apple in liquid form. Ava took another gulp and Charlie said something that Ava couldn’t quite make out over the music.

“What?” Ava asked leaning in again. Charlie shook her head.

“Outside,” she shouted, gesturing towards the sliding door on the far wall. Ava nodded and followed her out to the back porch.

“It’s pretty loud in there,” Ava said casually. Charlie shrugged.

“It’s a party.”

She wasn’t wrong. Luckily the door muffled the sound just enough that Ava could hear herself think. She took a minute to admire Charlie in the moonlight. Her eyes sparkled underneath layers of black liner, and her ears were adorned with silver studs and hoops that danced as she leaned over the railing to shout at some dude whose blunt was about to set fire to the lawn.

“Host duties,” Charlie said, rolling her eyes.

“Can I say something without sounding judgmental?” Ava asked, wincing into her cup. “Should you really be hosting a party when you have a midterm tomorrow?”

“My last midterm was yesterday,” Charlie replied. “That’s why I’m partying. Well, that and Halloween. Best night to celebrate.”

“Our poli sci midterm is tomorrow,” Ava insisted. She briefly felt the cold grip of fear on the back of her neck. Had she mixed up the dates? Surely it was impossible to forget the first day of the month.

“As if I’d take political science,” Charlie snorted. Now Ava was just confused.

“You’re in my class,” she insisted. Charlie sighed and Ava felt like she was missing out on something.

“Have you ever heard of twins?” Charlie asked sarcastically. “I suspect you’ve seen my sister, Amaya.”

“Twins?” Ava asked, looking around as if Amaya would suddenly pop out of a corner, cackling.

“She’s not here,” Charlie said. “She has a midterm tomorrow.”

“I know!” Ava shouted.

“Did you come looking for her?” Charlie asked, her eyes dimming for the first time that evening. “I can see how you two would get along.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Studious. Uptight.” Charlie took another swig of her drink.

“I’m at a stranger’s Halloween party in my bathrobe the night before my midterm,” Ava said, crossing her arms. “Do you call that uptight?”

“I never said I didn’t like it,” Charlie replied, flicking her eyes up and down Ava’s body. Ava flushed and re-adjusted her robe.

“Promise not to laugh,” Ava began. “But I actually came here to ask if you could turn down the music. It’s so loud and I really need to sleep before my midterm tomorrow—”

“Is that all you can think about?” Charlie asked, though her tone was more amused than mocking. She seemed almost entertained.

“Yes,” Ava admitted, dropping her face into her hands. Charlie laughed and Ava looked up, pointing an accusatory finger.

“I never agreed not to laugh,” Charlie said. “But I will turn the music down.”

“Thank you,” Ava said gratefully.

“I’ll even give you my number so you can text if we get too loud again,” Charlie said. “No need to leave the house in your pajamas.” She winked and Ava’s cheeks flushed.

“Thank you,” she repeated nervously, accidentally bumping into the railing. “I will. Text you, I mean. If it gets too loud.”

“Or if it doesn’t,” Charlie shrugged. Ava’s mouth went dry and she handed Charlie her phone. When Charlie handed it back, she’d added herself as “Hot Neighbour” with a string of ghost and spider emojis. Ava laughed.

“I’ll try not to confuse you with our other hot neighbours.”

“Have you met them?” Charlie asked, cocking her eyebrow. “There’s no competition.”

“No,” Ava said, biting her lip. “There isn’t.”

Charlie’s face broke into a smile and Ava returned it before heading back towards the house. As she slid open the back door, Charlie called her name.

“Yes?”

“Good luck on your midterm.”

Butterflies erupted in Ava’s stomach as she stepped back into the house and pushed through clumps of people, careful not to get caught in the fake spiderwebs this time. She was paying so much attention to the ceiling that she almost tripped over a pumpkin and cursed under her breath.

“That house is a death trap,” Ava muttered, pushing open the front door.

“Please don’t kick her out,” John shouted, still lounging on the front steps. “It’s Halloween!”

“I’m not the landlord!” Ava yelled back. She ran across the street and back into her house. She had just opened the front door when the music suddenly dropped. She could still hear the faint strains of Thriller, but from her bedroom it would be silent.

She crept to the front window and peered outside. A familiar figure came through the door and sat on the steps next to John, her long legs sprawled out carelessly. Charlie whispered something to John, smiling, and he punched her in the shoulder. They both looked up towards the house and Ava was too slow to duck out of sight. Charlie waved, her face spread in a wide smile.

“Love thy neighbour!” John shouted, standing up and raising his arms. Charlie dragged him back down to the steps and trapped him in a headlock. Ava laughed before shutting the curtains and crawling into bed. She really did need to get some sleep.

But after the midterm? She could think of a few ways to celebrate.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy birthday [gingercanary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingercanary/)!


End file.
